Residents living under siege for six years by animal rights activists welcomed the discovery of what appear to be the remains of Gladys Hammond's body.

But they demanded stiff sentences for the three men who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to blackmail David Hall and his sons, John and Chris.

During the hate campaign against the Halls bricks were thrown through windows, a golf course was dug up, paint-stripper has been poured over cars, telephone lines were severed and packages containing dog faeces was left on doorsteps.

Rod and Dorothy Harvey own Dove Fuels and ran the gauntlet for four years delivering petrol to Darley Oaks Farm before the abuse - up to 40 calls a day was common - became too much.

The final straw came when two bricks were thrown through their lounge window and Mr Harvey was injured.

"I sincerely hope the family will be able to put it behind that side of the matter to rest," he said.

"The thought of what they did does not stop, it goes through my mind all the time.

"I'm still looking over my shoulder and I'm still not going to bed at the proper time. What those people did has had a lasting effect on me and my wife is the same."

He said as one 'directly involved in the victimisation' he hoped they would be jailed for a long time.

"Until those people are in jail I don't want to say anything else," he said. "The thought that there might be further action is still with you. They've never said they won't come back again."

Peter Clamp, formerly councillor of nearby Newborough and neighbour of the Halls, received two death threats after he made a High Court bid to extend the radius around Darley Oaks Farm in order to exclude animal rights activists.

Despite yesterday's discovery he said the spectre of 'could it happen again' would always be with residents who were affected.

"This particular issue has come to a close but animal rights terrorists will always be there," he said. He said the whole experience has been life-changing in a way that people who had not been through it themselves could not understand.